News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit against Pawtucket city officials on behalf of five firefighters whose personal lockers at the fire station were searched by police without their knowledge or consent.

Cooperating attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island have today filed three lawsuits against Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) supervisors and staff on behalf of the family members of three individuals who died by suicide at the prison within the span of five months last year.

In a major victory for criminal justice reform and the rights of youthful offenders, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today ruled that Mario Monteiro and other similarly situated teenagers and young adults are eligible for parole consideration for release to the community after serving twenty years.

After reports of four deaths of incarcerated individuals at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in a period of three months, nine community organizations have called for an independent investigation of the deaths and greater transparency from the R.I. Department of Corrections (DOC).

In a victory against retaliatory lawsuits, the Weekapaug Fire District filed a motion dismissing Westerly resident Caroline Contrata from a lawsuit regarding a highly contentious shore access dispute in the town.

Responding to a recent report indicating that some Rhode Island-based police officers took privately-run training courses that promoted the use of unconstitutional policing tactics for motor vehicle stops and included blatantly discriminatory and offensive comments.

Joining ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys in a critical case involving the rights of young people, national juvenile justice groups have filed “friend of the court” briefs today in the R.I. Supreme Court

In its third skirmish with the Weekapaug Fire District in less than six months, the ACLU of Rhode Island has come to the defense of Westerly resident Caroline Contrata, who has been sued for monetary damages by the District in a high-profile shoreline access case

Attorneys for the R.I. Center for Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of RI today announced an interim settlement in a lawsuit filed last month challenging the threatened evictions of tenants for associating with Reclaim RI.